SHE may be strident, bordering on the officious on Channel 4's hit makeover show 10 Years Younger, but Nicky Hambleton-Jones is disarmingly affable in person.

''I'm not vicious at all,'' she protests with a laugh. ''In the first series I was a bit nasty, but that was because I was told to be by the programme-makers. They wanted me to be a kind of school marm.

''In series two, they said I could be myself, so since then I've always been really nice to our contributors. But the vicious label has stuck, and it really annoys me.''

That said, the immaculately turned out 34-year-old is the first to admit she's not averse to dishing out the odd bit of tough love.

''We do have to spell out the reason why people are on the show,'' she says, ''so you might get me going through their wardrobe saying, 'Look this is doing nothing for you'. But to me that's not being nasty, it's me showing them where they're going wrong.

''I have a fantastic relationship with the people who come on, because I work with them for about two months. They're going through such an intense process and I'm the one supporting them. It's exciting and fun, and also inspiring to see them go through the metamorphoses and come out the end a completely different person.''

Talking of metamorphoses, 10 Years Younger is ringing the changes for 2006, transforming from a 30 minute to an hour-long show.

''We're trying to make it Channel 4's flagship fashion programme,'' says Nicky. ''With Trinny and Susannah leaving the BBC, there's no high-profile show like that out there right now.

''Ours was quite surgery heavy in the half-hour format, with just a quick bit of hair and make-up. So now we have a fashion story running through the programme. We examine some of the things happening on the catwalk, and what's coming next season.

''There's also more of the thought process that goes on between myself and the hairdresser in the show, planning what we're going to do to match our contributor's overall look.''

So what's prompted all this tinkering?

''Channel 4 felt there was too much content for a half-hour show. So much ends up on the cutting-room floor and viewers were feeling a bit short-changed.

''Also, in the last series we never really got to know the contributor. It was just, 'You look old, we're going to make you look young, and now you are younger'. Now we hear their story, how they got to this point in their life and what they feel about all they're going through. I think that's really important because we get such great characters taking part.

''Of course we're nervous about what the viewers' response will be. But I think the difference between our show and What Not To Wear - which also jumped from 30 to 60 minutes - is that their programme worked much better in a half-hour format.''

Since it hit our screens in 2004, 10 Years Younger has been dividing the critics, some of whom have accused it of giving 'free propaganda to plastic surgery'.

''If that's the case we're also giving free propaganda to styling, hair, make-up and all those other things we feature," says Nicky. "Surgery is just an element of our show and the reason we have it is because we're trying to make people look 10 years younger. Sometimes no amount of make-up, hair and clothes will manage that.

The idea of having surgery certainly holds no appeal for Nicky. ''I hope I never need it,'' she says. ''I've never had an operation in my life, so I'd have to be pretty desperate to have someone working on my face. I'm much more into prevention.

''Saying that, if I did all of a sudden develop jowls and things moved dramatically south, then I might consider it. But hopefully that won't happen.

''The thing about remaining young looking is it's a lifestyle choice. It's about what you eat, if you smoke, how stressed you are and so on. One thing we should all do is drink lots of water, it's so good for your skin. If you drink two litres of water a day your skin's hydrated and it looks so much healthier and better.''

Perhaps surprisingly, Nicky is of the opinion we're all too obsessed about looking young these days.

''I think part of that is because of the celebrities we're bombarded with day in, day out who never seem to age,'' she says. ''It doesn't matter if they're 40 or 50, they still appear the same, so you start to think, 'They don't look older, so I shouldn't'.

''I also think we're feeling healthy and more active at an older age than ever before. Because of that we want our faces to match our energy levels. In the past, by 40 or 50 you were getting old. Now when you get to 50 or 60, you've still got lot of energy and you want to do things. That's where people struggle, thinking, 'I don't want to look old, because I don't feel it'.''

As for ageing, she's philosophical. ''In a way it's great, because a lot of the stresses of youth are then behind you. However, I intend to preserve what I've got for as long as I can, and I don't have a fear of turning 40 or 50.

''But I do think, doing what I do, it's going to be really tough. People will scrutinise me more than anyone else, which isn't a great thought. But, 40 is a long way away and, who knows, I probably won't be doing 10 Years Younger by then. I'll have emigrated to another country where I'll be hiding away.''

* A revamped 10 Years Younger returns to Channel 4 at 8pm from Thursday, January 12